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(Prepared for the UNESCO World Conference in
Higher Education 1998, formally adopted by the 11th IAU General
Conference as part of the IAU Policy 2000)
Preamble
It has often been taken for granted that universities
are international. The universal nature of knowledge, a long tradition
of international collegiality and cooperation in research, the comings
and goings of faculty and students since Antiquity have all served to
create this impression. Conscious that this impression only partially
reflects the day to day reality of higher education institutions in the
world, and noting that internationalization of higher education is
today more than ever a worthy goal, the International Association of
Universities wishes to reaffirm its own commitment to this effort and
to urge all stakeholders to contribute to its realization.
As we approach the 21st Century, a number of major challenges face
women and men around the world as they interact with one another as
individuals, groups, and with nature. Globalization of trade, of
production, and of communications has created a highly interconnected
world. Yet the tremendous gaps between the rich and the poor continue
to widen both within, and between nations. Sustainable development
remains an elusive long-term goal, too often sacrificed for short-term
gains.
It is imperative that higher education offer solutions to existing
problems and innovate to avoid problems in the future. Whether in the
economic, political, or social realms, higher education is expected to
contribute to raising the overall quality of life, world wide. To
fulfil its role effectively and maintain excellence, higher education
must become far more internationalized; it must integrate an
international and intercultural dimension into its teaching, research,
and service functions.
Preparing future leaders and citizens for a
highly interdependent world, requires a higher education system where
internationalization promotes cultural diversity and fosters
intercultural understanding, respect, and tolerance among peoples. Such
internationalization of higher education contributes to building more
than economically competitive and politically powerful regional blocks;
it represents a commitment to international solidarity, human security
and helps to build a climate of global peace.
Technological advances in communications
are powerful instruments which can serve to further
internationalization of higher education and to democratize access to
opportunities. However, to the extent that access to new information
technologies remains unevenly distributed in the world, the adverse
side effects of their widespread use can threaten cultural diversity
and widen the gaps in the production, dissemination, and appropriation
of knowledge.
Highly educated personnel and research at
the highest levels are essential to increasingly knowledge-based
development everywhere. Internationalization and international
cooperation can serve to improve higher education by increasing
efficiency in teaching and learning as well as in research through
shared efforts and joint actions.
The International Association of
Universities, founded to promote international cooperation among higher
education institutions, notes that despite the universality of
knowledge which has always served to affirm the international nature of
higher education, the level of internationalization remains low and
uneven. Furthermore, international cooperation has had relatively
little impact on global wealth and resource distribution even in the
realm of higher education. Worse, the external braindrain and other
negative consequences of poorly designed cooperative activities have at
times even exacerbated the conditions in developing nations. In more
recent times, commercial and financial interests have gained prominence
in the internationalization process and threaten to displace the less
utilitarian and equally valuable aspects of this enriching and
necessary transformation of higher education.
Recommendations
In recognition of the urgency to take
positive actions, the International Association of Universities
recommends that:
1. higher education institutions seize the initiative in the process of
internationalization rather than reacting to external globalization
forces, such as the market, in determining their actions;
2. higher education leaders, with active support of all levels of the
academic community, develop clear institutional internationalization
policies and programmes that are seen as integral to the life of the
institution and as such enjoy adequate internal and external
funding;
3. this support be facilitated by the
creation of a Forum on Internationalization Policy by the IAU and its
Member Organisations for the exchange of ideas and experience;
4. the curriculum of the university reflect
the preparation of international citizens, through facilitating
language competence; and understanding of global, international, and
regional issues; preparation of experts in areas needed for such fields
as information technology and science, peace and conflict resolution,
and sustainable development, as well as the special curricular needs of
international students;
5. North-South cooperation in higher
education, focusing as it does on human resource development, be
recognized as a major instrument of the fight against inequality among
nations, people, and groups and be given adequate support and funding
by national development agencies, intergovernmental organizations, and
private foundations;
6. the highly successful and valuable
academic mobility programmes developed within particular regions
(Europe, Asia, North America) continue to serve as catalysts and models
to expand such flows more widely to ever-growing numbers of individuals
and institutions on the global level. Efforts should be made to promote
the growth of academic mobility programmes in the other regions of the
world (Africa, Middle East, Latin America) as well as expanding inter-
regional programmes of inter-university cooperation;
7. institutions of higher education take
pro-active measures to ensure the quality of the internationalization
process by making use of existing quality review expertise developed by
various organizations and that IAU make such projects known among its
membership and contribute to the development of a roster of experts
available to take part on peer review teams;
8. the expansion of education export
development be conducted within internationally ethical codes of good
practice and be accompanied by research to evaluate its educational and
economic impact and to sustain quality control;
9. the expertise and experience of retired
faculty members and scholars be mobilized and shared across the
North-South divide in an Academics without Borders volunteer
programme to be facilitated by IAU and UNESCO;
10. UNESCO, national governments, and
educational institutions each demonstrate their commitment to
international cooperation in higher education by implementing , within
their respective purview, policies that remove obstacles to mobility,
such as stringent visa requirements, restrictive recognition practices,
and other regulations which impede the flow of students and academics;
and
11. all internationalization programmes be
founded on the principle of partnership among equals and promote
intercultural competence and a culture of peace among global citizens
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